


How Its Always Been

by ThereIsNoTragedyInThat



Series: On All Fronts [4]
Category: Triple Frontier (2019)
Genre: Boys In Love, Crappy motels, Cuddling & Snuggling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Love Confessions, M/M, Protective Santiago, Short & Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-18 11:22:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28991391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThereIsNoTragedyInThat/pseuds/ThereIsNoTragedyInThat
Summary: During a grueling mission, Santiago and Francisco take a moment to themselves.
Relationships: Santiago "Pope" Garcia/Francisco "Catfish" Morales
Series: On All Fronts [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2077473
Kudos: 20





	How Its Always Been

**Author's Note:**

> Laying together.

The rain tapped insistently against the shaky frame of the window and Francisco found himself staring at it, waiting for the perfect gust of wind to send it tumbling onto the stained and dirty carpet. The motel was small, cramped, and the furthest thing from a five-star resort that you could get…hell he was willing to bet, judging from the watermarks on the roof, it was barely a week away from being condemned.

When he’d seen it for the first time, he’d laughed long and hard until Santiago’s hostile expression had morphed into something a little softer. There were better options only a few blocks away, more illustrious options that were chalked full of cameras, microphones, and gossiping staff, where the front desk clerk was paid off by the militia and probably had their faces pinned up in his office.

Francisco figured he’d take the sour scent and wrinkled comforters over a firefight. For once, Santiago agreed with him and it had nothing to do with his pride and everything to do with the heavy circles beneath his eyes and the drag in his steps. This mission had proved much more difficult than they thought it would be but in two more days, they would reach the airfield and he’d just be a helicopter ride away from picking up the team and getting them the fuck out of dodge.

Santiago didn’t have to come with him…probably shouldn’t have at all but he’d been finding himself more and more tongue tied whenever the other man looked at him with eyes filled to the brim with fiery determination. He wasn’t to be argued with and Francisco tried not to think about what that meant for them or the rest of the team.

“You alright?” Santiago was pressed against his side, legs entangled, lips caressing the shell of his ear but there was no intent behind the words, they’d already exhausted themselves for the night, a much-needed release after nearly a month of celibacy. Fingers drew aimlessly on his bare chest, slightly damp from where Santiago had cleaned him with a questionable rag, leaving gooseflesh in their wake. “Francisco?” His tone shifted, edged on brittle and that wasn’t something he ever liked to hear. 

“I’m good,” he hummed. “Dead tired is all.”

A pause and then Santiago was ducking his head down to bite at the skin of his shoulder, making him hiss and try to pull away, only to be held tight in place, “you’re lying. Te conozco mejor que nadie. Now what were you thinking about?”

He shot Santiago a dirty look only to find the man utterly unrepentant, his dark eyes settled on him with a familiar and unavoidable intensity. Sighing, Francisco let his fingers slide into the other’s man’s hair, running them through the wild array of curls and absently wishing for a cigarette to keep his mouth busy.

Now was not the time to discuss their relationship. They were in the middle of a mission, their situation delicate enough to leave him hiding in this shitty hotel while the rest of their team hunkered down and waiting for the pick-up…and Francisco was thinking about how it felt to know Santiago hadn’t wanted to leave his side, even briefly.

“Nothing that should be talked about right now,” he finally murmured. “If you still want to know when we’re back in the barracks, ask me then.”

A harsh gust of wind drew his gaze back to the darkened window, fingers twitching with the urge to reach for his gun as branches scratched against the paper-thin walls of the building. He did not want to look at Santiago, did not want to encourage the man’s line of questioning, he was just too damned tired for it.

Lips pressed to his bare shoulder, their touch brief and chaste, as peck after peck was left upon his skin, making its way to his neck. He let the hand that was tangled in Santiago’s hair turn into a caress, holding him close, until those familiar teeth were tugging gently against the lobe of his ear, earning a shiver.

“You know,” the man whispered. “Te amo.”

Francisco felt his breath catch in his throat, knew Santiago must have felt him fall still, but he paid it no mind, continuing to press his lips to the line of his throat, sinking lower and lower, back to the skin of his shoulder. It should not be shocking, they were by each other’s sides more often than not, they worked most of their jobs together, they talked late into the evenings, they ate breakfast together, they fucked, and they teased, and they…never said the words.

Swallowing thickly, Francisco finally glanced at the other man, took in the slight flush on his cheeks, the glisten of sweat on his forehead, and his kiss bruises lips, things that hadn’t faded even an hour later and he felt his heart swell with affection.

Tugging on his hair lightly until their eyes met, he raised an inquiring eyebrow, “how exactly would I know that? I don’t recall you ever saying so before.”

The corner of his lips twitched, as though he were fighting off a smile, “Because you know me better than anyone,” he replied easily, as though it were nothing. “Because I tell you all the time.”

He did, all the damned time, just not with his words. It was in the ways he wouldn’t let him go on his own, the ways he’d tell him to eat more, reassured him, stayed by his side, caressed his face, made love like it might be last time every time.

“You know,” Santiago murmured. “You’re supposed to say it back.”

Francisco hummed but was unable to hold back his own grin, “am I?”

“Yes, otherwise you risk making a man incredibly nervous.”

That wasn’t something he’d ever associate with Santiago, the man’s charm and confidence never faltering, even when it really should, yet there was no hiding the glimmer of unease in his expression, the slight tightening around his eyes and the corner of his mouth…he did know him better than anyone else.

Leaning down a bit to steal his lips in a harsh kiss, he was rewarded with Santiago’s hand coming up to caress the back of his neck, pulling him closer and closer. When they finally broke away, breath labored, Francisco whispered the words against his temple repeatedly, “Yo también te quiero.”


End file.
